New Delhi: Following the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) crushing defeat in West Delhi’s Rajouri Garden bypoll, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia conceded defeat and said that people were upset with AAP over its MLAs quitting to contest the Punjab Assembly elections.
“There was anger among people after Jarnail went to Punjab,” he told reporters on Thursday.
AAP MLA Jarnail Singh had earlier quit the West Delhi seat only to unsuccessfully contest from Lambi in Punjab against the then chief minister and SAD patron Prakash Singh Badal. Mr Singh came in third in the contest.
“We tried convincing them (voters). But after the results, we are realising that people were not convinced and remained upset,” Mr Sisodia said.
He even claimed that the party will pull up its socks in the upcoming civic elections and try to convince the people of Rajouri Garden by showcasing the “good work” done by the Delhi government.
Relegating AAP to the third spot, the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiromani Akali Dal (BJP-SAD) combine candidate, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, swept the West Delhi’s Rajouri Garden bypolls. Mr Sirsa defeated Congress’s Meenakshi Chandela by 14,652 votes while AAP’s Harjeet Singh lost deposit by managing just 10,243 votes.
The by-election was crucial since AAP was trying to redeem itself before the all important civic polls on April 23.
Mr Sirsa had won the Rajouri Garden Assembly constituency in 2013. He was defeated by AAP candidate Jarnail Singh in 2015.
When asked about the possible impact of the Rajouri Garden bypoll on the MCD election, the deputy chief minister said that BJP too lost several by-elections after its resounding victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
“We will show it in the municipal poll. After winning 282 seats in Lok Sabha, BJP lost many bypolls. We will win the MCD polls by telling people about the work done by us and we will win it handsomely,” he said.
